Bikes wheeled out to battle crime

The use of bicycles by an Irish police unit has proved so popular that it is to be expanded three-fold.

Members of the Garda Mountain Bike Unit has been told that the number of machines at their disposal will be increased from 130 to 489.

Unit members will also be seconded to some garda stations for the first time.

The PSNI has also followed the trend of swapping four wheels for two. The service now has purchased 220 bicycles for the use of patrolling officers.

The Garda Mountain Bike Unit was established on a pilot basis in two Dublin districts in April 2001.

Within a year it was operating throughout the Dublin area and expanded to Cork, Galway and Limerick.

Senior garda officers said the units had "proved popular with local communities".

There are currently over 1,050 garda officers trained in mountain bike patrolling methods.